Alabama Football Looking Forward to Defending Middle Tennessee State's Air Raid Passing Attack

The Blue Raiders finished 14th in the country in pass attempts per game in 2022-23.

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Cornerback is one of the toughest positions to play in any sport.

Play after play, you have to go toe-to-toe with some of the best athletes on the field. Not to mention, the opposing wide receiver oftentimes has a head start — while the cornerback has to backpedal to keep up. And if all that isn't enough, offensive pass interference isn't called nearly as much as it is on the defense. As a cornerback, your faults are highlighted far more than your successes.

No. 4 Alabama has one of the best cornerbacks in the country in Kool-Aid McKinstry — who finds himself on a lot of preseason watch lists.

In the Crimson Tide's season-opener on Saturday, McKinstry and the secondary will be tested early and often. Middle Tennessee State runs a pass-heavy offense under head coach Rick Stockstill. The Blue Raiders installed an air raid offense prior to the 2022-23 season — and they will bring it to Bryant-Denny Stadium on Saturday night.

"I think the multiples of formations that they give you whether it’s empty, four open, wide outs, all kinds of things are gonna put guys […] you know, at some point, you’re going to have to play guys man-to-man," head coach Nick Saban said. "And your guy’s gotta win. You can’t give up explosive plays. So I also think you’ve got to mix it up, and sometimes when people spread you out, you got to play maximum coverage. Sometimes you got to play maximum pressure. But whenever, you have to be able to execute, so that you're not giving up explosive plays."

"Turnovers and explosive play ratio — those are the two most critical factors in winning and losing games. So, I think you’ve got to be patient. These guys are gonna go no-huddle. They’ll go fast at times. Players have got to be able to get lined up and execute and not let that affect their rhythm and how they play."

Middle Tennessee finished 36th in the country last season in passing yards per game — averaging nearly 265 yards in the air. The Blue Raiders were 14th in the country in pass attempts per game — throwing the football 39.4 times per contest.

With all of those attempts comes opportunities for Alabama's defensive backs — including McKinstry.

"Being a DB, going against a team that throws the ball, it’s something you look forward to — knowing the team is going to throw the ball," McKinstry said. "[We're] just [trying] to stop them from doing what they do best and make them do something different."

With the quarterback dropping back on the majority of snaps, it also gives edge rushers like Dallas Turner and Chris Braswell to create pressure and rack up the sacks.

"It’s going to be exciting to get to the quarterback," Braswell said. "We try to strive for that every game, not just this team. They’re a great team. They have a lot of great players, great plays, great weapons. We’re going to get to the quarterback. We’ll see."

Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m. CT on the SEC Network.

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